Georgia's national tennis team ended their appearance at the newly launched ATP Tour competition in Australia with a win over Uruguay, with Nikoloz Basilashvili and Aleksandre Metreveli earning the result for the squad at the high-profile event.
In Perth, Georgia's top-ranked player Basilashvili (World No. 26) spent little over two hours to record a 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 win over his rival Pablo Cuevas on Wednesday, capping Team Georgia's successful result when combined with Metreveli's victory in the other game.
Georgia's Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport called the win "historic", noting the squad's first appearance at the prestigious competition.
The latter took even less time to come out on top against Franco Roncadelli in his win, taking the two sets 6-2, 6-1 and recording his second successful fixture in tour-level matches.
Basilashvili called his round an "interesting match" and told ATP reporters he was "happy with how I played today". He also shared his enjoyment at the teamwork-oriented games of the Australian-hosted event, mentioning a doubles win over Japan by him and Metreveli earlier in the week.
In the doubles section Cuevas and Ariel Bahar reversed the individual outcomes, defeating Metreveli and Aleksandre Bakshi, another member of the travelling Georgian squad, with a score 6-2, 6-2.
Team Georgia's two individual wins swayed the results however and placed them third in Group B, behind pool winners Spain, with Japan in second.
Organisers have promoted ATP Cup as "the most exciting new tournament in tennis", inviting top players like Andy Murray, Nick Kyrgios and ... to take part.
In the format, 24 countries are involved in fixtures held in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney over 10 days of competition, "culminating in the winner-takes-all Final Eight" in Sydney. This year's contest is set to close on January 12.